Trace Adkins Signs to Toby’s label

Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, and Mark Wright were on hand at a press conference at BMI on January 13 to announce Trace Adkins as the newest artist on the Show Dog-Universal label.

Jessica Phillips

Explaining his jump from Capitol Records to Show Dog-Universal, Trace said, “I had 15 or 16 years with Capitol. I appreciate and respect those folks. But I’m excited and invigorated by the energy in these guys.” Trace says that Toby’s enthusiasm onstage was a contributing factor. “On tour, I saw something I longed for. I saw Toby with this big grin on his face and he’d come bounding offstage. That joy is real. He ain’t that good of an actor, you know?” he quipped, setting off a round of laughter in the conference room.

Trust and timing were other factors. “[Producer] Mike Knox and I had been cutting stuff in the studio and I asked Toby if he wanted to hear some of them. He said he didn’t even need to hear it. That’s the trust he has in me. He knows I ain’t going to cut s**t” says Trace. In regards to his contract with Capitol Records, Trace says, “Renegotiation time came up on my contract. We were about to go into an option on my contract, and I chose not to take that option.”

Trace says that he is working on new music for an album “It’s not a huge departure from other stuff I’ve done. This album stays [upbeat], whereas other albums I’ve done have been deep and dark.” When asked about a possible first single and release date, Toby explained that the duo had only very recently signed the contract, so they would be discussing those matters soon.